Storytelling – Sitting by the Fireside

Program at Pavillon für Baukultur, Budapester Str. 7, 53111 Bonn:

Saturday 7.09.2024

16:00 — 17:00
No story begins at the beginning — sound installation

17:00 — 19:00
Sitting by the Fireside — collective radio session with panel discussion and music examples
with Susanne Fuchs-Mwakideu, Gabriel Myers Hansen, Kaspar van de Water/Callshop Radio, Miki Yui and Stefan Schneider
(discussion in English with German translation!)

Sunday 8.09.2024
16:00 — 17:00
No story begins at the beginning — sound installation

17:00 — 19:00
Highlife — listening session with Gabriel Myers Hansen
Gabriel Myers Hansen will play a selection of Highlife music from diverse eras.

In Ghana, storytelling is a traditional narrative technique connecting all regions and segments of the population that is employed for the transmission of knowledge, for education and schooling or simply for entertainment purposes too. However, this passing down of culture is not only accomplished through verbal stories – it also takes place through performed rhythms (for example, on the talking drum), in colours and patterns on clothing, in written texts or through radio plays. Thus, storytelling is a fundamental basis and tradition in the formation and shaping of communities. 

The central form of popular music in Ghana, “Highlife” arose towards the end of the 19th century and has been constantly changing and evolving ever since. Over these many decades, into the present day, Highlife has lost little of its popularity. Highlife not only serves as entertainment – it is also a means of giving expression to socio-political questions that have been neglected in public discourse.

Guests:

Susanne Fuchs-Mwakideu is a project manager for the Deutsche Welle Academy and was active for several years in Ghana and Burkina Faso. For over a year now, she has been living in Bonn and working as a project manager for the DW Academy’s Africa team.

Gabriel Myers Hansen is a music journalist in Accra (Ghana) and West Africa correspondent for the important music information network and online journal “Music in Africa”.

Callshop Radio is an internet radio station from Düsseldorf specialised in international contemporary music cultures. Over the past years, Kaspar van de Water has initiated a wide range of collaborations with fellow broadcasters in Paris, Leipzig, Vienna and Malawi.